A Single Minute's Difference
by Silver Snowblossom
Summary: One minute. That was all it took. Ultear Milkovich fails to cast Last Ages, and the consequences are keenly felt by the Fairy Tail guild. Many guild members are badly injured, but all Natsu can think about is the fact that Gray was dead. Dead and gone. And he isn't sure how he can ever move on without his best friend and rival.
1. Natsu Dragneel

**A/N: This was sort of what I'd envisioned happening when I first saw the episode with Gray's death. Then, Ultear cast Last Ages, and all was sunshine and daisies again. Sorry if Natsu seems slightly OOC, but we saw his reaction when Igneel, someone he hadn't seen for** _ **seven years**_ **died. Imagine how he would react if one of his closest friends died, especially since he'd never seen death before. (PS, this is NOT Gratsu. I like Natsu and Gray's friendship more than romance.)**

 **Edit 9/27/18: Sorry for randomly updating this. I just went back and fix some spelling and punctuation errors. :)**

 **Also, I know the summary doesn't show up in the mobile version of (something I'm very annoyed with), so for those of you who are reading this using the mobile version, here's the summary:**

One minute. That was all it took. Ultear Milkovich fails to cast Last Ages, and the consequences are keenly felt by the Fairy Tail guild. Many guild members are badly injured, but all Natsu can think about is the fact that Gray was _dead_. Dead and gone. And he isn't sure how he can ever move on without his best friend and rival.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Fairy Tail. The world of Fairy Tail, its characters and the plot all belong to Hiro Mashima.

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 **A Single Minute's Difference**

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Natsu stretched lazily, slightly sore from his battle with Future Rogue. He grinned, adrenaline from the fight still flooding his veins. The dragons and Future Rogue were now gone and his nakama were safe. Fairy Tail had prevailed yet again.

He decided to go find Lucy first. Not that she was weak or anything, but he was slightly worried about her, given that she'd seen her future self die right in front of her. He'd beat the stuffing out of Future Rogue for her, though, so there was that, at least.

He drew in the air, searching for his guildmates' scents, looking for the cherry blossom and vanilla that was Lucy's. The dragonlings they were fighting should be gone, so they should be recovering and wrapping up any wounds they might have received.

That was when he heard the crying.

Natsu hadn't heard it before, seeing as the battle he'd been wrapped in had blocked out all other sounds. The fact that he and Future Rogue had been hundreds of feet in the air on the back of a dragon hadn't helped matters either. A worm of unease coiled in his gut—that sounded like Juvia. Just what could have happened?

He hurriedly followed the sound of crying, hardly noticing the state Crocus was left in after the dragon's attack. He was too busy trying not to think about what it was he would find. It wasn't like anything bad had happened though—he was just being cautious. That's all. Natsu ignored the little voice in the back of his mind that wasn't in denial, and knew what had happened. Everything was fine; maybe Juvia was crying out of happiness because the battle was over. It sounded flimsy even in his head… deep down, he knew something was wrong.

Natsu barely noticed when it started raining as he closed in on the crying. (If Juvia was making it rain, though, something had to have happened, and if he didn't pay the rain any attention, maybe he could pretend nothing had happened.)

Natsu could smell that Lyon and Meredy were there with Juvia too. Gray was also there, but something was off about his scent. Natsu brushed it off; the ice block was strong (even if Natsu would never admit it out loud, nevermind to his rival's face). Gray was fine. He repeated it to himself and nodded. Yes, Gray was fine and as soon as he healed up from his battle with Rogue, Natsu was going to kick his ass and everything would be okay.

Natsu turned the corner and instantly froze at the sight that greeted him.

Juvia was kneeling beside someone who was lying on the ground, sobbing into their chest. Lyon was surreptitiously trying to wipe away the tears pooling in his eyes, but was failing miserably. His eyes skimmed the clearing, searching for the familiar raven hair of his rival. Where was Gray? (That couldn't be Gray on the ground, it couldn't because Gray was strong and wouldn't get hurt that easily. Hurt, not dead. Never dead.) Meredy was moving to sit next to Juvia, wrapping her arms around the water mage and pulling her into a hug; Juvia turned and cried into the pink-haired mage's shoulder. Natsu hadn't scented anyone else in the clearing, so, at last, his gaze dropped to the figure on the ground. He sucked in a sharp breath.

It was Gray.

Natsu was hardly aware he was moving, slowly inching his way to Gray's side as though the truth might change if he waited long enough. Because Gray couldn't be dead—he was just badly injured and Juvia was making a fuss out of nothing. That had to be it; the alternative was unthinkable.

If only.

Natsu found himself looking down at his friend's unmoving body. Distantly, he noted Meredy had pulled Juvia away, and Lyon had sunk down to lean heavily against the somewhat-destroyed wall.

He was struck by the wrongness of the sight that greeted him. Gray's skin was pale—too pale—and his eyes were closed. He looked peaceful, and, if it weren't for the fact that his chest didn't rise and fall, he almost, almost, looked like he was sleeping.

Nasu was grateful for Juvia's rain—it helped hide the tears that were no doubt streaming down his face.

He stood still, some part of him still unwilling to believe that Gray was actually dead. Natsu half-expected him to sit up with his usual smirk present on his face and laugh at how stupid they were being, crying over nothing.

He didn't turn away from his friend's body, but his next question was clearly directed at Lyon. "How?" he managed to choke out. Natsu wasn't even sure what he was asking. Luckily, Lyon seemed to understand.

"It was the dragonlings," the older mage said quietly, grief clearly evident in his voice. "A group of them climbed over the rise and Juvia, she got distracted. They shot at her. G-gray pushed her out of the way." His voice trembled at Gray's name.

Natsu choked back a sob. Of course the stupid Popsicle had died for someone else. He was always playing the hero. He nodded, throat too tight to speak. Some part of him wanted to be angry, but he knew it was just a part of who Gray was—the ice mage had always put others before himself.

Natsu wasn't sure how long he'd been staring at Gray's body in shock and disbelief, uncaring about who might see his tears. He was snapped out of his daze by the sound of Lucy's voice. "—atsu. Natsu! Where are you?" From the sound of it, she was just around the corner.

"Here," he croaked, voice hoarse from crying.

Lucy rounded the corner, face breaking into a smile as she saw him. "There you are!" she exclaimed. "We've been looking all over for you. What—" she cut herself off as she finally took in the sight before her. Natsu supposed he looked like a mess right now. His eyes were red and puffy from crying; the rain had stopped when Juvia had left, so the tears stains stood out clearly among his cheeks.

Lucy's eyes moved to the unresponsive Lyon in the corner, and then to the body on the ground. "Oh no," she breathed, hands coming up to cover her mouth. "No," she whispered again. Natsu knew he should probably go and comfort her, but he couldn't even summon the energy to move from his position.

He felt empty and numb now, as opposed to the shock from earlier. The exhilaration from beating Future Rogue was long-gone, and he suddenly just felt really, really tired. Sleep sounded like a good idea right now—maybe when he woke up, this would all be a dream and Gray would still be alive.

Later, Natsu found himself staring up at the ceiling of the inn they were staying at. He hardly remembered carrying Gray's body back to the others, but he could vividly recall the looks of stunned shock and grief on his guildmates' faces when they'd seen him, and the body he carried. He hardly remembered taking a shell-shocked Lucy by the hand and gently pulling her to see Porlyusica. Afterwards, he dragged himself to bed, not even bothering to take a shower or change out of his torn clothes.

Instead, he stared at the ceiling, desperately trying not to think of Gray, lying there too-pale and quiet and dead. Gray was gone, forever. Natsu squeezed his eyes shut tightly. He didn't want to think about it anymore. Before, he'd always faced his problems head-on, but death was the one enemy he couldn't fight. Let it be known that Natsu Dragneel was not a coward, but now, all he wanted to do was close his eyes and pretend none of it had ever happened. For the first time in his life, he was running away.

He was just so tired, and he wanted to run away from reality, even if it was only into his dreams. He waited, desperately, for sleep to claim him.

Natsu knew he would have to deal with the aftermath, the grief and pain and guilt later. He would have to face reality, figure out how to live in a future without his best friend and rival, learn to piece his life back together when he woke up.

But, for now, he just wanted to escape.

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 **A/N: So um, yeah. This is the first Angst fic I've ever written, not to mention my first Fairy Tail fanfic. It also happens to be the first oneshot I ever wrote, since I happen to prefer multi-chapters.**

 **Funny thing is, I actually ended up writing this in the middle of math class. :P Sorry if it seems kinda rushed.**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you think!**

 **~Silver Snowblossom**


	2. Aftermath: Lucy Heartfilia

**A/N: Okay. So, originally, I planned on this just being a one-shot. I wasn't actually planning on writing this second half. But I was bored in Bio class so I just started writing in the back of my notebook and it turned into this.**

 **So, here's Lucy's thoughts and reaction to Gray's death.**

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 **Aftermath: Lucy Heartfilia**

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Lucy wasn't sure what she'd expected to find when she had set off in search of Natsu after the dragons and Future Rogue were gone. At the thought of Future Rogue, she winced; she was incredibly glad that that mess was all over now—maybe she would be able to put it behind her. She shivered. She still felt the lingering horror and shock at Future her's death, especially since Future Rogue had been aiming for her.

At the mention of it, the guilt surged up within her again—someone had died to save her, had sacrificed their life for hers. Granted, it was her future self, but still… Was this how Gray had felt afterwards, when his mentor Ur had used iced shell to save him and Lyon? No, it must've been worse for him, because Ur had died as a result of his decisions. It wasn't like Lucy blamed him, but he did make a big mistake, and it had cost Ur her life. She had a feeling that those were the sort of thoughts that had been in his mind after Ur's death, the self-blame and guilt. If that was the case, Lucy didn't know how Gray was always so strong and composed all the time; the guilt was eating up her insides, and she could really use some of Natsu's exuberance and boisterous energy.

So when the rest of the guild had regrouped by the destroyed Eclipse gate, bandaging each other's wounds and celebrating their victory, and Natsu hadn't shown up, she'd offered to search for the pink-haired dragon slayer. (Strangely, Juvia and Gray hadn't shown up either. Maybe Natsu had picked a fight with Gray again?)

She set off in the direction she thought she'd seen Natsu set off in, ducking and weaving around the rubble and debris that was a result of the dragons' attack on Crocus. As Lucy walked through the once-beautiful streets, she couldn't help but wonder how long it would take Crocus to recover from such a devastating attack. At least no one had died, she thought, seeing as the civilians had been evacuated and were only now trickling back in to survey the damage to their home.

Later, she regretted ever thinking no one had died. Maybe she had jinxed it, and if she hadn't Gray would still be alive.

Lucy wandered through the streets, shouting the dragon slayer's name. It was strange, but part of the street seemed wet, as though it had rained recently. She decided not to dwell on it, and called Natsu's name again. He had extremely good hearing—if she got close enough, he should respond. "Natsu. Natsu!" she called. "Where are you?"

Finally, she got a response. "Here," Lucy heard him say, though his voice sounded somewhat hoarse. She brushed it aside—he was probably just injured from his fight with Future Rogue. Perhaps Future Rogue had gotten in a lucky hit on his throat. He'd have to get that looked at later.

Lucy rounded the corner and relief surged within her at the glimpse of salmon locks. "There you are!" she exclaimed, feeling a smile creep onto her face. "We've been looking all over for you! What—" She cut herself off as she finally took in the scene in front of her. Instantly, the rising happiness within her was extinguished, to be replace with fear at what could have possibly happened.

Natsu looked like he had been through hell and back. His clothing was tattered and ripped, and he was bleeding sluggishly from some minor cuts as well. He had various bruises blooming on his skin, turning it blue and purple. But that was normal; that wasn't the part that made her pause. No, it was the tear stains on his cheeks and the puffiness of his eyes. It was clear he had been crying, and Natsu never cried. She'd never seen him cry before, and if he was crying now, something had to be terribly wrong.

Dread filled her, and she scanned the clearing, hoping for something that would tell her it was just a joke, that nothing had happened. Lucy found Lyon sitting on the ground, back against a half-destroyed wall. He had his knees pulled to his chest, arms wrapped around his legs and head bowed. The sense that something was so terribly wrong grew larger. She had never seen Lyon admit to weakness, never seen him with such a defeated posture before, even when he could barely move after Gray had defeated him on Galuna island. He was just as stubborn as Natsu and Gray about never wanting to appear weak. (Boys and their pride, she'd scoffed.)

And if Lyon was here…. then this must have something to do with Gray.

Her gaze dropped to the body on the ground, and she froze. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth. "Oh no," she breathed. She closed her eyes, desperately wishing that what she saw before her was just an illusion, a nightmare, and when she opened her eyes again it would be gone. She opened her eyes. Nothing changed. She was half-aware that she'd taken a step back, as though she could escape reality if she got far enough away. "No," she repeated; if she said it enough times, perhaps it might be true.

Because Gray couldn't be dead. Not Gray, the person who walked up to her the day she joined Fairy Tail to shamelessly ask her if he could borrow her underwear. Not Gray, who read her novel all the time and made her yell at him for doing so, even though she was secretly pleased that he like it. Not Gray, who fought with Natsu like cats and dogs even though everyone knew that they really cared for each other. Lucy hadn't seen it at first, those first few months since she joined; she hadn't seen the meaningful gestures and silent communication, the times they communicated with their eyes the things that would never be said out loud. The quiet acknowledgements of each other's strength, even though out loud they might insult each other and say otherwise.

Oh god. If she was hit this hard by Gray's death, how would Natsu react? How would Natsu move on from his best friend's death? Because Lucy hadn't known Gray as long as the others, but somehow he had already become a permanent fixture in her life, like he and Team Natsu and Fairy Tail had always been there.

Because when Lucy loved, she loved with all her heart. For the first time, she wished she didn't, because now the piece of her heart that she'd given to Gray was hollow and empty and dead, like he was.

Lucy knew the rest of the guild would be hit hard by Gray's death. Most of them had known him since they were kids, and to have him suddenly gone…. there would be an empty hole where Gray had once occupied, perhaps forever.

She barely noticed when Natsu scooped up Gray's body, following behind him in a daze as he carried the ice mage back to the others. Grief fell over the guild like a heavy blanket, a somber silence in the air. For once, Fairy Tail was subdued and quiet after a battle, their dead comrade weighing heavily on their minds.

Lucy was sure she saw Cana duck into a pub, no doubt trying to get drunk and forget about all this. Wendy had burst into tears and was being comforted by Carla and, strangely enough, Porlyusica. The Master seemed to stare in shock before turning away in shame, even though Lucy didn't see what there was for him to be ashamed about. It wasn't like it was his fault Gray was dead. Then again, guilt never followed logical reasoning. Even those who hadn't known Gray all that well were in mourning for their fellow guildmate.

She felt a hand gently tug on hers, and she let Natsu drag her over to Porlyusica even though all she wanted to do right now was curl into a ball and cry.

Later, she lay in bed staring up at the ceiling, wondering just where things went wrong, why Gray was dead. Fairy Tail had been in many bad situations before, chief among them Phantom Lord's attack and the one-sided battle with Acnologia (and they definitely did not win that one, even if they had survived thanks to the First Master), but this was the first time someone had died. Every time before, they had made it out relatively unharmed, always pulling through. Now, Lucy saw, for the first time, that Fairy Tail wasn't invincible.

They could lose, too.

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 **A/N: So, what did you think? Was this better or worse than Natsu's perspective? Do you think I should keep this as the second chapter of** _ **A Single Minute's Difference**_ **or post it as a separate, companion piece?**

 **Please review and let me know what you think, as well as any comments or suggestions. :)**

 **~Silver Snowblossom**


End file.
